Christchurch Priory, Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch Priory has a long history, going back to the 11th century if not earlier. It was the priory church of an Augustinian Priory until the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Priory is large - bigger than quite a few cathedrals, and is one of the longest parish churches in England. The surrounding graveyard appears to be mainly Victorian, although on a cold, wet winter's day I wasn't hanging around to explore for too long, and most of the stones are weathered and fairly illegible.
Inside the priory there are a number of historic memorials, not least a large memorial to Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary (and Percy's heart) are buried at St Peter's Church in Bournemouth, but that church rejected the memorial due to its size.
This is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area (hopefully on a sunnier day!). Find the Miraculous Beam in the priory (fixed by a mysterious carpenter, and the reason for the priory's name) and do visit the nearby castle mound too.
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